Monday, August 31, 2009

Such a great start to this autumn's working life. I am in day 13 or so of a light cold. I definitely do NOT have the swine flu. But I have been coughing up a storm, and like some sort of ab-fantastic electrode machine to train the body's muscles, incessant coughing does the same for both the muscles around the stomach, ribs, and the back. Now my voice sounds like the godfather, and though it commands the respect of the character who I play in real life, I think I could do without the coughing at least.

But I am not exactly innocent in my efforts to regain full health. After the two last weekend parties, which were of course Awesome, I am a little worse for wear. Anyhew, thanks to my contact, I have been able to score some groovy cough medicine, and salvation is nigh. Next week both jobs start up and I aim to be at 100% again. If the voice is better, then at least I can give instructions and guidance, if not, well then it could get really entertaining.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Another Saturday dawns and it seems to be a good day. Air Force Beer Call last was definitely awesome, but it made me realize how really bad I am at Norwegian dialects. I don't intend to improve in any way. But at least the entertainment portion did not disappoint too much.

On another note, I have employment secured for another year, and am really looking forward to getting my hands into it. The challenges, the rewards, the let downs. All hands on deck.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

After a nice and a more than justifiably extensive vacation time, I am back in Trondheim ready improve and enhance on every level. As stated in previous posts, the summer's escapades have been rewarding and new. Definitely got a taste for the mountain hiking, and a repeat of that must be considered in the near future.Anyhew. The summer has not come and gone wanting of academic sustenance. 3 books were read. A 4th was started about a week ago and lo and behold done reading. Always a good sign when I can finish a book quickly. It generally means it was more than a little interesting. Boyd - The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram is an excellent book I recommend to anybody who likes good bio's and is also interested in the air force and air-to-air combat. Boyd, who I previously only knew by name and reputation had quite a fascinating life, mostly due to what he accomplished and his being a bit of a maverick in the officer cadre of the USAF. Coram's style is that of a zealot but signals, where appropriate, how some of the stories told from 2nd and 3rd hand sources should be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, Boyd is depicted as iconic, unappreciated, but truly the high priest of the church of air-to-air combat tactics.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

After a sizeable investment in mountain gear, I eventually trekked up to Blefjell Mountain. A 3-day hike in good company was ultimately successful. Colorblindness notwithstanding I managed to glas the red T's that marked the trail. Though the first day was bogged down with an incident of me seeing how well my shoes could float down a brook, 24 hours and a pair of dry boots later, the trek went on to the top. Although the summit was never reached due to thick fog, it still went a long way to illustrate the importance of navigation. An importance which was doubly emphasized by the neccessity for map redundancy halfway through the trek. That being said, the next trek will need to trumph this in terms of, well, everything, except maybe foolhardiness, that can stay behind.